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Lee "Leenock" Dong Nyung

Last month, I wrote a piece detailing my nerd love for Starcraft 2, which I watch as religiously as most watch professional sports these days. My reasons for doing so are vast, and can be found in that piece, but after watching MLG Providence this weekend, another storyline emerged that tells a lot about why I like this game.

The National Championships for Major League Gaming were held in Providence this year, and they featured the absolute best crop of players from all over the world, as icons of the game like Idra, Naniwa, MVP, MC and Nestea were in attendance to compete for the $50,000 USD prize.

But only one emerged victorious, and it wasn't someone anyone saw coming. It was a Korean, yes, but an unexpected one. FXOLeenock defeated Swedish player Col.Naniwa for the top spot. Impressive enough as Naninwa dominated the tournament to a ridiculous degree previously, but even more amazing when you learn that Lee "Leenock" Dong Nyung is only sixteen years old.

He had previously knocked out top tier players like Huk, Idra, Boxer and MVP, and had come all the way through the tournament via the open bracket, meaning he had to win a great deal more games than players who had automatic spots in later stages. He was also only the second player ever in MLG history to come back from being knocked down to the losers bracket to win.

There's just something heartwarming about seeing a goofy sixteen year old kid worshipped on stage as fans chant his name. That's not meant to be an insult to him, rather it's a statement of why Starcraft is a truly fantastic sport to watch, that kids who would be branded nerds or dorks in "regular" life, can be legends here, with only their skill as the qualification for adoration. I can't imagine any other sort of sport or activity where kids would get to lead these kinds of lives, and it's a lot of fun to see them succeed here.

The viewing numbers for this year's final MLG will be out this week, and they'll announce a new event schedule for 2012 in a little while. In his closing statements, MLG co-founder Sundance DiGiovanni promised the next year would be even bigger, and now with a lot more sponsor attention with 181,000 concurrent viewers in its highest reported event so far, it's clear they'll be expanding in a big way. I hope I'll get to be there to see it for myself.